Significance. Joseph Bailly was probably the
first white settler in northwestern Indianaat the time a
wilderness inhabited mainly by Indians. His homestead was an oasis for
travelers, a meeting place for Indians and whites, and a religious and
social center.

Bailly, born in 1774 in Canada, began fur trading at
Mackinac, the bustling fur capital of the old Northwest, at the age of
18. He built up a thriving business in the Mackinac and Lake Michigan
areas and extended it south as far as the Kankakee and Wabash Rivers.
His fur business was interrupted by the War of 1812, whereupon he
enlisted in the British Army, and as a lieutenant of Canadian
Voyageurs transported munitions for the British and Indians. Late
in 1813 he was captured by a party of Indians loyal to the United
States, delivered to U.S. authorities at Detroit, and imprisoned for 3
months. After his release he led several raiding parties against the
Americans.

Joseph Bailly Homestead.

Following the war Bailly's fur trading activities
declined, as did those of other traders in the area. In 1818 he became a
U.S. citizen. He lived in the Mackinac area until 1819, first on
Mackinac Island and later on Drummond Island, some miles distant. In
1822 he settled permanently in northwestern Indiana, an area as yet
unsettled by whites, although the central and southern parts of the
State had already been bypassed by the advancing line of westward
settlement that had reached Illinois and, in places, had crossed the
Mississippi River. Some of the displaced Indians had moved into the
northwest part of the State. Bailly erected several log cabins to carry
on his trading activities. Because the post was located in the
wilderness near the trails from Detroit and Fort Wayne to Fort Dearborn,
it became a stopping place and social oasis for Indian and white
travelers.

In 1834 Bailly started work on his home, but died the
following year. His hope of founding a town and bringing in Canadian
settlers never came to fruition, but he did manage to sell a few lots.
He is best remembered for his missionary-like activities among the
Indians. His homestead was a religious center, the only one of its kind
between Fort Dearborn and Detroit. The Bailly Homestead has been
designated as eligible for the Registry of National Historic Landmarks
primarily because of its associations with the fur trade.

Present Appearance. The main house, unfinished
at the time of Bailly's death, and one of the log storehouses used in
his trading activities are the only buildings that remain. Both have
been considerably altered. The Bailly Homestead is now part of Indiana
Dunes National Lakeshore.